Tray-machine



. 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. M. E. BENJAMIN.

(No Model.)

TRAY MACHINE.

No. 297,662. Patented Apr, 29-, 1884.

ll ll r. Washinglnn. n. c.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

M. E; ENJAMIN.

TRAY MACHINE.

No; 297,662.- Patented Apr, 29, 1884.

a v n m M a w n u m H w m P a n z n P N (No Model) V 3 Shee ts-Sheet 3.

M. Elf-BENJAMIN. TRAY MAGHINE.

No. 297,662. Patented Apr. 29, 1884.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.MYRON E. BENJAMIN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

TRAYEMACHINE.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,662, dated April 29, 1884.

I 7 Application filed ()ctober 5, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MYRoN E. BENJAMIN, of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and Improved Tray-Machine; and'I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and complete description thereof.

The above-mentioned improvement in machines for making trays relates to the device for bending, driving, and clinching the staples, whereby'the laps of the foldings of the dish or tray are secured in a more efficient, economical, and expeditious manner than heretofore accomplished in the ordinary tray-machine.

Of the improvement aforesaid, the following is a full and complete description, reference being had for illustration to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a sectional plan view of the machine, taken through the line m in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a side elevationof the machine. Figs. 3, 4t, 5, and 6 are detached sections. Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section through the line 00 00 of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is an end elevation. Figs. 9, 9, and 10 are detached sections. Fig. 11 represents the inside of a tray.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several views.

In a suitably-constructed frame, of which A is the base, CO the sides, and B the crown, are arranged the following-described devices:

So much of the machine as is used for bending and lapping the folds of the prepared material for a tray before the said laps are secured by staples, forms no part of this invention, but is or may be similar to such parts used in the ordinary tray-machine; hence only a brief description thereof will be given, that the application of the improved parts may be understood.

D,Fig. 2, is. a head forming the male section of the dies for bending the tray-blank into shape. Said head terminates the end of an upright shaft or slide, E, fitted to and adapted to move in the case F. A reciprocalvertical movement is given to the slide by a crank-wheel, G, to which the slide is attached 1 by a connecting-rod, H. 5o The female part of the bending or forming dies consists of the shell I, adapted to fit the contour of the head D. Said shell is attached to a slide, Y, adapted to slide in the ways K,

slide, and terminates in a pair of arms or folders, (indicated by the dotted lines b,) the use of which will hereinafter be shown.

As above remarked, the forming-dies are like those in ordinary use for this purpose.

Therefore a further description thereof will not be necessary.

' In the brackets L, connected to the side of shell I of the forming-dies, is journaledashaft, M, on which are secured the rollers 01 d, each of which is provided with an annular rib adapted to fit, respectively, the annular grooves in the rollers c 'e on the shaft N, having its bearings in the brackets alluded to. Said rollers are feed-rollers for feeding the staple-wire into the machine, to which further attention will be called hereinafter. Said shaft M and rollers are rotated by a pawl and ratchet-wheel, f and 9, Figs. 2 and 8, which in turn are operated by the following mechanism: The pawl is pivoted to one arm of a le ver, 0, fitted to vibrate on the shaft M. The lower arm of the lever is pivoted in the slot of the upright varm'lE, secured to a slide, Q, as shown in Fig. 8. Said slide moves in suitable guides or ways, (indicated by the dotted lines h.) The slide Q is given a horizontal reciprocal movement by a lever, B, pivoted at z'to the side of the frame. The upper end of the lever B is pivoted to an arm, j, depending fromthe said slide Q, whereas the lower end of the lever is bifurcated and adapted to fit a cam (indicated by the dotted lines S in Fig. 8) secured on the shaft T, carryingthe crank-wheel G, above referred to.

It will be apparent from the above described mechanism that as the cam S revolves it will vibrate the bifurcated lever B, which will give a horizontal reciprocating movement to the slide Q, causing a vibratory action of the lever 0, thereby operating the pawl f for actuating the ratchet-wheel g for giving an intermittent action of the feed-rollers above described. U, Figs. 1, 7, and S, is a frame projecting from the side of the front of the machine, and a little higher than the top of the forming-head D.

In the bottom of the frame is a cross-piece, V, resting upon the cleats 7; on which it slides. Said cross-piece is provided with a pair of arms, 1, extending forward to and between the lower and upper sections of the forming-dies. Said arms Z Z, together with the cross-piece V, form a slide, V, to which a reciprocal intermittent movement is given by the followingdescribed mechanism:

To the shaft V is secured an arm or rod, y, the upper end of which is attached to the slide V by means of a sleeve, m, fixed to the slide, and into which sleeve the end of the rod g is inserted, and is free to move therein longitudinally for lengthening and shortening the connecting-rod as the slide moves toward or outward from the machine. The shaft \V is rotated by a cam, 0, Fig. 8, terminating the end of the shaft T. As the cam revolves, itlifts upward the arm 1) of the shaft, thereby giving to the shaft so much of a rotative movement as to cause the arm 3 to move the arms of the slide from between the two sections of the forming-dies, but which is again returned between them by the reaction of the spring 1' the instant the arm 1) falls into the notch or depression of the cam 0, alluded to.

In a recess in the side of the forming-head D is arranged a pair of cog-wheels, A and B, Figs. 5 and 6, of which a a are the pivotal axis. Said wheels engage each other,and are also adapted to engage a pair of clinchers, b and c.

The clinchers consist each of a quarter-segment of acircle,thearcof which is provided with cogs adapted to engage the cogs of the wheels A and B, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The radial sides of the clinchers are plain,smooth surfaces, as seen at (1, so that when the clinchers are in the position relatively to the edge 0 of the head as shown -inFig. 5, the said radial sides (1 are at right angles, or nearly so, to the edge, and when in the relation thereto as seen in Fig. 6 they are parallel therewith. This change in their position is effected by the wheels A and B, and for a purpose presently shown.

The clinchers above alluded have no pivotal axis of rotation,as have the cog-wheels A and B, but theirrotative movements are in grooves 6, respectively. Ribs corresponding to the grooves, and adaptedto slide therein, are formed on the sides of the segmental-shaped clinchers, as shown inFig. 7', at e. Said ribs are on the upper side of the clinchers, and the grooves are consequently in the upper surface of the recess, as shown in Fig. 7.

Figs. 5 and 6 represent the upper surface of the recess, that the grooves may be seen.

The change in the position of the clinchers from that shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6 for the practical purpose of clinching the staple D is effected by the following device: A pin, E, Figs. 2 and 6, extends from the wheel. A down through the forminghead D to the bifurcated end F of the lever G, in which the end of the pin terminates. Said lever is pivoted to the side of the shaft E of the head D. An elongated notch or opening, H, (shown in Fig. 7,) is made in the case F, that the connection of the lever to the shaft may be made by a short stud that the lever may operate outside of the case, as seen in Fig. 2. To the arm I, Fig. 7, of the lever G is attached a rod, J, which extends therefrom down through the beam K, and terminatesin a screw on which are nuts L. The lower end of the said lever terminates in a curve, f, adapted to slide down the incline of the trip M.

The operation of these several parts for actuating the clinchers above described is thus: The positions of the clinchers are supposed to be as seen in Fig. 5, and the forming-head D in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 7that is to say, down away from the upper section of the forming-die. Now,as the head is raised upward by the crank-wheel G, above described, the lever G will be carried up with it, and when so far raised as to bring the nuts L to the beam K, the rod J will draw upon the arm I of the lever and cause its bifurcated end to move in the direction of the arrow, taking the pin E in the same direction, (the pin moving in a slot in the head through which it passes.) This movement of the pin turns the wheels A and B in the direction of the arrows 1, Figs. 5 and 6. Said wheels in turn operate the clinchers, causing them to turn in the direction of the arrows 1 1, thereby bringing the radial sides of the clinchers to the position seen in Fig. 6, which will clinch the prongs of the staple D down upon the tray material, as seen in said Fig. 6.

Further attention will be called to this part of the invention hereinafter.

The devices for bending and driving the staple above alluded to are constructed and arranged as follows:

Secured to and projecting from the side of the shell or upper section, I, of the formingdie is an arm or guide, N, Figs. 9 and 10, to which is fitted, so as to slide freely thereon, a slide, 0, Figs. 1 and 2, inclosingthe two sides, and the upper surface of the guide. The lower edges of the two sides of the slide 0 project forward, forming two arms, f -one on each side of the guide Nwhieh open thejaws n as they are projected forward, and the slide U closes them as it is retracted, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. Said arms are the staplebender, and which operate as presently shown.

To the guide N, alluded to, is attached a j aw, P, pivoted in the ears h. Said jaw is closed in contact with the under side of the guide N, as seen in Fig. 9, by a spring, Q.

Transversely in the end of the jaw P is a p the groove and being bent into shape.

T, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, are rollers attached, respectively, to the sides of the slide above referred to.

n,n are a pair of jaws, one of which is pivoted to the guide N, and the other to the jaw P, by means of studs n n, and pivot-pins through them, as seen in section, Fig. 9, to permit of a slight rotary motion when the jaws are actuated by the projecting ends of the sliding plate U. The said jaws it are con nected, respectively, to the head of the slide U, and by which the jaws are opened and closed as the slide O is actuated, as presently shown. c

Between the guide N and the jaw P is the staple-driver V, the lower end of which terminates in a tongue of about the thickness of the wire or staple-blank and about the width of the jaw 1?.

It will be observed in Figs. 9 and 10 that in the jaw P is a shoulder, r, corresponding to the shoulder scof the staple-driver.

A. is a roller attached to the end of the staple-driver, and which is'operated thereby, as presently shown.

It will be proper to say here that both sides of the machine are provided alike with the above-described stapling device, but which is shown in the drawings complete on one side only, as the one is simply a duplicate of the other. v

1 Practically the operation of the machine is as follows: A'blank for a tray, previously prepared by scoring it in the directions for the corners and laps, is placed upon the arms Z Z of the slide V, which for that purpose during the general operation of the machine is drawn outward to the cross-piece B, Fig. 1, by the action of the cam 0, while a preceding trayblank is being operated upon, that is folded and stapled, which being done, the forminghead D descends to the position shown in Fig. 2. At this instant the cam o ceases to act upon the arm p, allowing the springito draw forward the slide V,'thereby carrying the tray-blank over the forming-head and immediately under the upper section, I, of the former. action of the crank-wheel G and pitman) int-o said forming shell or section I, taking with it the tray-blank. The armsb, Fig. 2, bend down the two opposite ends D, Fig. 1 1, over which are folded the laps E. At the same time the sides F F are being folded by the co-operation of the head D and sides of the shell I, (the two sections of the tray forming dies.) The laps and folds thus formed are secured by the staples, of which a are the [side of the jaw.

The head at once ascends (by theclinched prongs, as follows: As the forminghead D continues to ascend, it pushes upward the shell I to the line 00 00, during which time the wire 0, Fig-7, for the staple, is fed into the machine by the feed-rollers d and e by the mechanism hereinbefore described: The wire as it passes through the rollers passes also through the tube G, and is further guided into the groove m of the jaw l? by passing through the hole in the jaws 12, formed by the two semicircular notches in the j aws,when they are closed together, as shown in Fig. 3, and which are closed by the slide U. Thus as the slide 0 is carried downward bythe downward movement of the arm N, together with the jaw P and slide U, the said slide U acts upon the arms 1 and 2 of the angle-levers of the guide-jaws n, and closes them to form the hole for the wire to pass through to the staple-bender, consisting of the two projections f f of the slide 0, before the ends of which the wire is pushed by the feed-rollers the moment the forming-head begins to push upward the forming-shell I. The wire thus inserted before the bending projections ff of the bending-slide O is now out off by the shear-edge of the projection f nearest the rollers, which forthat purpose and for bending the piece of wire or staple-blank is now,

. together with the bending projection f pushed downward bythe wheels T, so that as the two sections of the formingdies now move upward together, said wheels T impinge upon the inclines 11, Fig. 2, and push down the said slide 0, the cutting projection f of which (above referred to) cuts the staple-blank off close to the end of the guide-tube G. The guiding-jaws n are at the same time forced open by the projections f f of the slide 0 as said slide continues to move forward, to release the wire, that-the two ends thereof may be pushed forward and bent down against the sides of the jaw P directly in front of the hole and at right angles therewith, as indicated by the vdotted line 3, Fig. 9, which represents one of the prongs of the staple bent against the side of the jaw. The other prong of the staple is in like manner bent against the opposite The back or that portion of the staple connecting the prongs is held in the groove m of the jaw P while the prongs are beingv bent by the under side of the guide N, against which the grooved part of the jaw is held in contact by the spring Q. The staple thus made is simply one having a straight back and two prongs at rightangles therewith. The staple thus made is to be driven into the ends of the tray and clinched. This is done immediately following the bending of the staple by the staple-driver V, so that the instant the staple is bent the driver is forced shoulder r of the jaw P, and forces it away from the guide Nthat is, from its position shown in Fig. 9 to that shown in Fig. 10. In this dropping down of the jaw P the stapleis pushed out of the groove by the finger It, thereby allowing the thin end of the driver to push the staple from between the jaw and the guide, as seen at 3 in Fig. 10, while at the same time the staple is driven through the material C of the tray, as seen in Fig. 5. The instant the prongs of the staple are through the material they are immediately clinched down, as seen in Fig. 6, by the revolving clinchers b and c, which at this moment are operated in the direction of the arrows by the timely movement of the wheels A and B, which in turn are operated by the mechanism hereinbefore described. Vhile the staple is being clinched it is prevented from being pushed out by the clinchers in consequence of the end of the staple-driver remaining in contact with the back of the staple against which the clinching is done, so that the clinchers are closely set in the material of the tray, as seen in Figs. 6 and 11. The instant the clinching is done the head or section D of the forming-dies descends by means of the crank-wheel G and pitman, followed down by the upper section of the forming-dies, so that as it descends the bendingslide 0 is drawn back by the wheels T rolling down the inclines Y, Figs. 1 and 2, and the staple-driver is forced back at the same time by the wheel A impinging upon the bar or cross-piece K, extending across the slide 0, so that as the said slide moves up the bar pushes the wheel A, and with it the stapledriver. As the stapledriver moves back, the shoulders thereof passes from off the shoulder -r' of the jaw P, which is then closed against the guide N, as seen in Fig. 9, by the spring Q. This upward movement of the jaw I brings the end of the finger R to the bottom of the notch m, in which the staple-blank was held while being bent, as seen in Fig. 9. During these several movements the guiding-jaws a are again closed, as seen in Fig. 3, by the slide U, so that as the bendingslide 0 moves upward, the slide U by the pin z" is pulled upward, which draws upon the arms 1 and 2 of the jaws a and closes them, for the purpose above described. The elinchers arc in the meantime opened, as seen in Fig. 5, to allow the prongs of the staple to be driven in and clinched by the means above described. All the above specified actions take place during the downward movement of the trayforming dies, so that when down to the position shown in Fig. 2 the tray is pushed out from the upper section of the dies by the arms I) of the rod 0, Fig. 2, which is immediately removed from between the two sections of the dies by a suitable device, (not shown in the drawings, and another tray-blank fed therein,

as above described, by the slide V.

The operation of the machine is such that, as the forming-dies begin to close upon the tray-blank, the wire for a staple is again fed into the machine in time to be cut off and bent by the time the tray comes into position. The prepared staple is then driven in and clinched, as above described.

The purpose of the screw and nuts on the end of the rod Y, Fig. 2, is to regulate the movement of the clinchers, that they may clinch down the prongs of the staple more or less tight, as may be required.

If the clinchers are to be pressed into the material of the tray, the clinchers are given more throw to bring the plain faces d thereof farther outward, which is done by shortening up the rod by screwing the nuts farther thereon, thereby giving more throw to the lever G, which as a consequence gives more compressing force to the clinchers, and so, percontra, on lengthening the rod, the clinching force will be accordingly.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The bifurcated lever G, pin E, adjustable screw-rod J, and trip M, in combination with the cog-wheel A, for the purpose set forth, and substantially as described.

2. In a machine for making trays, guidearm N, the staple-bending slide 0, provided with projecting arms f f for bending the staple-blanks and for cutting the same from the wire for said blanks, and the rollers T, in combination with the jaw 1?, provided with a transverse groove in the end thereof, spring for closing said jaw, and inclines H and J, substantially as described, and for the purposes specified.

3. In a machine for making trays, the stapledriver provided with a shoulder, s, and roller A, arranged to operate in relation to and in combination with the guide N, incline 1, bar or cross-piece K, and jaw 1?, provided with spring Q, having a shoulder, 1*, the co-operation of which shoulders s and 1" open said jaw for the removal of the staple from the groove in the end of the jaw I, that the staple may be driven therefrom into the folds of the tray and clinched, substantially as set forth.

4. I11 combination with the guide N and stapledriver, the jaw 1?, provided with a groove, an, adapted to receive the staple-blank below the upper surface of the end of the said jaw, so that the prongs of the staple may be bent against the blank sides of the end of the jaw below its line of contact with the guide, substantially as described.

5. In combination with the jaw l and staple-driver, the finger R, arranged in relation to the groove in said j aw, substantially as set forth, and for the purpose specified.

6. In a machine for making trays, the guiding-jaws a, each of which is provided with a notch,which,when the jaws are closed, forms a hole for guiding the stapling-wire from the conducting-tube to the bending-slide, in combination with the slide U, pin, and bendingslide 0, as described.

7. In combination with the forming-dies of a machine for making trays, a slide consisting tative segmental clinchers arranged in relation to each other and to the cog-wheel A and B, as set forth, and provided with a segmentrib adapted to fit and move in a corresponding groove, by which is obtained to said clinchers an annular movement, substantially as described, for operating the same, in combination with the means for holding and driving a staple, for the purpose specified, and substantially as set forth.

In testimon; whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MYRON E. BENJAMIN.

WVitnesses:

W. H. BURRIDGE, J. H. BURRIDGE. 

